Silent by Sara Alva Read Free Book Online

to your parents and clear things up?”
    “Mom’s out of town for the weekend. She’ll be back soon.”
    “Oh. So then maybe you’re not staying.”
    “Nope. I’m not.”
    “Good for you.” Brandon stood and dusted himself off. “Andrew and Ryan are gonna be home soon, and I’m supposed to make sure they do their homework.”
    He didn’t say goodbye as he turned to leave, and for some reason I decided that meant I should go with him. Another even larger woman, also in colorful clothing, was standing in the kitchen now, along with two younger black boys who looked like they were still in elementary school.
    “And that’s Alex. Hopefully just a temporary,” Ms. Loretta said to the new woman.
    “I’m Ms. Cecily, Alex.” She stuck out a fleshy hand for me to shake, and I took it, mostly because Brandon was watching and I no longer wanted to seem like such a dick in front of him. “Brandon, take Ryan and Andrew upstairs and get them started on their homework.”
    The boys followed Brandon, and I trailed a little further behind, wondering why nobody was telling me what I was supposed to be doing. Maybe that was a good sign, though. Hopefully it meant I wasn’t going to be worked into their little system.
    Upstairs, I plopped back on a bed… my bed, I supposed, and watched Brandon settle one boy into a desk in a room across the hall. He returned with the other kid and took the boy’s folder out of his backpack, then thumbed through the papers before setting it down. “Get to work,” he ordered.
    The boy glanced over his shoulder at me, baring crooked teeth. “New kid?”
    “I’m not one of you,” I spat, more severely than I’d intended. It was just that it was like the fifth time I’d been called that in a thirty-minute time period. I wasn’t new, and I wasn’t a kid. I was just…fucked.
    “Leave him alone, Ryan. He’s grumpy,” Brandon said.
    A squeak and a rustle reminded me that the Seb character was still behind me. I whirled around to see if I’d get a better look at him this time, but he remained covered all the way up to his hairline.
    “I’m not grumpy. I’m just not gonna be staying here. I’m sorry for you all if you got problems, but I don’t.”
    Brandon rolled his eyes. “Dinner’s at seven. See ya.” He strode out of the room, and I immediately wanted to kick myself. Driving away my first potential ally in this damn place was probably not the smartest thing to do.
    Ryan started writing on a worksheet, ignoring me, so I lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Despite all my talk, I knew it was only that—talk. It would take a day or so until they reached my mom, if she’d only planned on a short trip. She’d deny Hector had done anything wrong, of course, but they’d probably want to talk to him anyway. And Hector wasn’t really the talking sort.
    Maybe he’d skip town?
    That thought instantly chased most of the bad ones away, and I seized the opportunity to close my eyes and grab a few moments of rest.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 5: Bad. Very Bad.
     

     
     
     
    “Dinner!” a woman’s voice boomed. A loud, brassy woman’s voice. Not my mother’s.
    Opening my eyes slowly, I took in the shadows that hung over wooden bunk beds, each perfectly made, and empty. This was not my furniture, and not my room.
    The sheets I lay on smelled faintly of lilac. Not my bed.
    I bolted upright as I finally remembered where I was. But in the dim light and without anyone around me, the whole thing seemed totally surreal. I was tempted to close my eyes again and let it all be a dream.
    “You’d best be gettin’ yourself down here if you plan on eating, ’cause you ain’t gettin’ nothing later!”
    I picked up the edges of the pillow and curled them around my head, even if it wouldn’t be enough to shut out that kind of a voice.
    Footsteps pounded on the stairs, and a moment later Brandon appeared in the doorway. “Don’t tell me you can sleep through Ms.